Sea Anemones

These beautiful sea flowers are Sea Anemones.

Sea anemones usually spend most of their lives in one place, but some have the ability to move. If they do move, they can only travel three to four inches an hour. Sometimes sea anemones hitch a ride on hermit crabs or decorator crabs. If they do that, the sea anemone can protect the crab and if the crab is a messy eater, the sea anemone can pick up bits of food from the crab and eat it. Some sea anemones just let go of the rock and go float around in the water. The sea anemone eats small fish and shrimp. The sea anemone captures its prey with its deadly stinging tentacles. The sea anemone's mouth and tentacles are located on the top of its body. Sea anemones reproduce by budding off baby sea anemones. The babies stay connected to the adult until it is old enough to go out on their own. If a sea anemone is torn apart by rocks, then each part becomes a new sea anemone.